Manufacture of combined metal bodies



(No ModeL) J. PEDDER; MANUFACTURE OF COMBINED METAL BODIES.

Patented July 13, 1897.

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JOI-IN PEDDER, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

MANUFACTURE OF COMBINED METAL BODIES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 586,319, dated July 13,1897. i

Application filed February 4, 1895. Serial No. 537,210. (No specimens-lTo all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN PEDDER, a resident of Pittsburg, in the countyof Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in the Manufacture of Combined Metal Bodies; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof.

My invention relates to the formation of combined ingots, blocks, orplates of steels of different carbons or of different metals, its objectbeing to provide a method for forming the same whereby the severalplates or layers may be caused to adhere more firmly together and thewrought-metal plates may be caused to adhere firmly to molten metal castagainst the same. Its further object is to produce an ingot, block, orplate having outer faces of wrought metalthat is, metal which has beenworked and compacted, and from which, if desired, the surface metalcontainin g imperfections has been previously removed-so that thefinished plate, such as an agricultural plate, shall have more perfectsurfaces, the usual imperfections on the outer surface of the platewhich are found in cast-steel or like metal being done away with.

The usual method of forming combined iron and steel bodies or ingots hasbeen to cast the steel against a wrought-iron or steel slab insertedwithin an ingotmold and permit it to cool and subsequently to reduce theingot to plate. In such ingots it is found that the cast metal does notadhere as firmly as desirable to the wrought metal and is very liable topart therefrom when rolled, so that it has been considered necessary toheat the ingot to a high heat and subject it to a hammering operation inorder to, as far as possible, cause a more perfect union or adherencebetween the plates or layers. This operation increases the cost andwaste of the metal, and it is found that even after such heating andhammering the parts are liable to separate. During the cooling of theingot in the mold the shrinkage of the cast-steel or other metal causesit to draw away from the inserted plate, and if that permits theentrance of the air the surface becomes oxidized, which prevents anyfirm union between the plate and the cast metal, even though it is soheated and hammered, and as is practically always the case the steelcast against the inserted plate contains blow-holes and otherimperfections and is liable to pipe, and if any such surfaces areexposed to the atmosphere they do not unite on account of the oxidationthereof. The usual way of forming agricultural plates has been to castthe steel around the slab inserted, the high-carbon steel so castforming the outer wearing-surface, while .the inserted slab gives thestrength to the finished plate, and such imperfections were thereforeliable to appear in the outer faces of the finished plate formed fromthe ingot. By my invent-ion I am enabled to produce plates having moreperfect outer surfaces, to utilize for that purpose plates which havebeen worked, so as to compact the same and from which, if desired, thesurface metal containing imperfections has been removed.

My invention consists, generally stated, in producing combinedwrought-metal and caststeel bodies by casting the molten steel betweentwo or more wrought-metal plates and while the steel is in a molten orplastic condition compressing the same by forcing such metal platestoward each other, so as to form the outer surfaces of the finishedingot, plate, or block of wroughtmetal plates and to cause the firm andpermanent union between the inner cast-metal and outer wrought-metalplates.

It also consists in certain other improvements in the method practicedand apparatus employed and the ingot, block, or plate produced, as willbe hereinafter set forth and claimed.

To enable others skilled in the art to employ my invention, I willdescribe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure lis a vertical section of a mold, illustrating the form ofingot or block. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on the line 2 2, Fig. 1,before the molten metal has been poured. Fig. 3 is a perspective view ofthe ingot or block produced. Fig. 4 is a top view of a mold,illustrating the formation of ingots or blocks, having two outer,plate-metal layers and a central layer of cast-steel. Fig. 5 is a ViewICE illustrated in the drawings, however, is well I adapted for thepurpose, and I will describe the same.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 I have illustrated the formation of blocks havingfive layers of metal, a being the bed-plate, from which the endconfining-walls b c extend upwardly. The wrought-metal plates areinserted be-;

tween these end walls, their ends contacting with the walls, or, as maybe found desirable in some cases, spring or like operatedpressing-plates are provided to contact with one of the edges of eachplate, and for this purpose I may employ spring-operated, plates f, asshown in Fig. 2, or I may employ plates adjusted by screws, as shown inFig. 4, em-

ploying separate adjustable plates for each plate inserted or a singleone fortwo ormore plates. One of the end walls of the mold apparatus mayalso be made adjustable, as indicated in Fig. l, and for many purposesthis is all that is necessary when the plates are accurately rolled towidth. To apply side pressure to compress the plastic or molten metal, Imay either employ pressing-blocks or ram-faces d a, one or both of whichcan be movable as desirable, the drawings showing both the platesmovable in Figs. 1 and 2 and one such plate movable in Fig. 4. Thesepressing-blocks or ram-faces can be operated by any suitable mechanism,such as by means of pressure-cylinders d 6 the piston-rods d e of whichact upon the ram-faces cl 6.

In forming an ingot or block having several layers of metal I insert inthe apparatus suitable wrought-metal plates, such as the plates g g gwhich plates have been first pickled or otherwise deoxidized, so thatthe molten steel will adhere more perfectly thereto. The molten metal isteemed between these plates, being preferably teemed between two of theplates and the bed-plate at, having a depression therein to permit themetal to flow around the central plate and rise on the other sidethereof. The metal is either teemed to the top of the plates, in whichcase it may flow off through a spout on one end wall when pressure isapplied, or it is teemed to about such height as will bring it to thetop of the plates after the side pressure is applied. \Vhile the metalis either in a molten state or after it has become plastic, sidepressure is applied thereto through the pressing-blocks (Z c, which arecaused to approach each other, so applying pressure to the metalconfined between the outer plates and forcing the metal into immediatecontact with the inner faces of the outer plates and with the centralplate, which action compresses the cast metal, forein g out any gasescontained therein and closing up any blow-holes or piping of the metal,and brings the cast metal into such intimate contact with the insertedplates as to unite them firmly thereto. The compression so applied tothe ingot or block while the cast metal is still plastic causes a firmunion between the plates and such cast metal, and such union as willovercome the necessity of subsequent reheating and hammering of theblock before it is rolled. The pressure is continued until a layer ofcast metal of the desired thickness between the plates is obtained, andthe surplus metal, if there is any, can flow off through a suitablespout s in one end wall.

The pressure may be continued until the plates are brought intopractical contact, and in that case the molten metal simply acts assealing material between the plates. When the invention is so practiced,I generally employ wrought-metal plates of different carbon or differentmaterials, such as hard and soft steel plates or steel and iron plates.

If desired, instead of applying the pressure while the ingot or blockremains in the mold, as the edges of the body of cast-steel or othermetal will become chilled more rapidly than the interior, while the saidmetal still continues sufficiently plastic to cause the particles tomove over each other under pressure and obtain the desired action abovedescribed, the ingot is removed from the mold and without heating issubjected to pressure under a press or hammer, though I prefer to applythe pressure while the ingot remains within the mold. This isillustrated in Fig. 5, in which if is the hammer or press, the ingotresting on the anvil t, the hammer or press being operated by steam orother power' to exert the necessary force for compressing the combinedin got.

' In employing the molds shown in Fig. 411116 operation is practicallythe same, but as but essary to force one toward the other, and thereforebut one of the side blocks 61 8., sustaining the inserted plates, ismade movable.

In the forming of ingots or blocks,when it is desired to formagricultural plates, such plates requiring a very perfect surface freefrom imperfections which lead to the unequal wear of the surface of theplate, the outer face of one or both the outer plates inserted withinthe mold may have removed therefrom the surface metal thereof, whichcontains the imperfections present in any steel plate, (arising frompin-holes and blow-holes in the ingot from which it was formed,) so thatthe outer or wearing surface of the ingot or block and the plate formedtherefrom is formed of a plate from which the usual imperfections on thesurface of such a plate have been removed, and therefore a practicallyperfect outer wearing-surface on the block or plate formed therefrom beobtained.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated ablock formed in the apparatus illustratedin Figs. 1 and 2 1 1o two outer plates are employed it is onlynecnamely, an ingot or block having several layers of metal having theouter and central layers of wrought metal and the intermediate layers ofcast metal-and in Fig. 6 I have illustrated a block such as would beformed in the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 4, the said blockillustrating the outer wrought-metal plates and the inner body of castmetal.

For the formation of safe, vault, or armor plate, where a body of fixedthickness is desired and where it is not desired to roll the body afterit is formed, the large plates required for the outer surfaces may befirst rolled and brought to the desired shape, and then byinsertingwithin the apparatus, such as in Fig. &, and the steel teemed betweenthe plates and the plates pressed toward each other until a block orplate of the exact thickness required is obtained, when pressure isremoved and the plate permitted to cool. In this way large safe-platesor armor-plates can be economically produced having the desired metal ofany degree of hardness or carbon either in the interior or exterior ofthe plate.

In the making of blocks or plates according to the invention,where theouter surfaces are formed of wrought metal, these plates can be made ofany desired carbon, such as for agricultural plates of high carbon, andthe plates themselves properly examined before the making of the blocks,and a steel of proper carbon, such as a low-carbon steel, employed toform the inner layer, and in this Way a block having anabsolutelyperfect outer surface and one of the exact carbon desired canbe obtained, and even if imperfections exist in the metal cast betweenthe plates it will not affect the finished block or the rolled plateproduced therefrom. The ingot is also produced with the several layersof metal flush with each other at the edges, and on account of thepressure applied While the metal is in a molten or plastic state allfear of oxidation at the edges of the layers is prevented and apractically permanent union of the metal along the edges is obtained.

The finished ingot requires no special heating and hammering, but cansimply be reheated and rolled to the desired width and thickness, solargely reducing the cost of making plates containing layers ofdifferent metals.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The herein-described method of producing combined wrought-metal andcast-steel bodies consisting in casting molten steel between two or morewrought-metal plates, and while the steel is in a molten or plasticcondition compressing the same by forcing such metal plates toward eachother, and thereby causing a permanent union between the plates andlayer of cast-steel, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described method of producing combined wrought-metal andcast-steel bodies consisting in casting the molten steel betweenwrought-metal plates and confining the end portions between end wallsandwhile the steel is so confined forcing the plates toward each other,and so compressing the cast metal while in a molten or plastic conditionand when confined by the end walls and thereby causing a permanent unionbetween the plates and layer of cast-steel, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-described method of producing combined wrought-metal andcast-steel bodies having outer and central layers of wrought metal andintermediate layers of cast-steel, consisting of casting the moltensteel between the outer metal plates and on each side of the centralmetal plate and when the cast-steel is in a molten or plasticconditioncompressing the same by forcing the outer metal plates toward thecentral metal plate, and thereby causing a permanent union between theplates and layer of caststeel, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said JOHN PED DER, have hereunto set myhand.

JOHN PEDDER.

\Vitnesses:

JAMES I. KAY, ROBERT C. TO'lTEN.

